Illia Polosukhin is a prominent figure in the blockchain and artificial intelligence space, recognized for co-founding NEAR Protocol, an innovative layer-one blockchain delivering a user-friendly and scalable platform for decentralized applications. He currently serves as the CEO of the NEAR Foundation, which supports the ongoing growth and development of the NEAR Protocol. Prior to entering the blockchain industry, Illia built extensive expertise in artificial intelligence and software engineering. He obtained a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, working on AI at Google where he made key contributions to TensorFlow.